The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may or may not constitute prior art.
Surgical forceps or tweezers are used in various applications during medical therapy procedures. Such devices are commonly used for holding or gripping objects.
Recently, medical practitioners have also used bipolar forceps and tweezers during surgical procedures. Bipolar forceps and tweezers may be used to seal vessels by delivering pulsed bipolar energy to coagulate nearby tissue, which may replace or minimize the need for sutures and staples.
Thermal margin, thermal injury and re-grasp may present issues when using electrosurgical devices, such as electrosurgical forceps. The thermal margin is the heat spread during coagulation to cause excess tissue effect. For example, energy may emanate from the non-active surfaces of the electrode, or the outside faces, which may cause the thermal margin to reach beyond the area intended to be treated. Thermal injury may be caused by residual heat on the jaws after a coagulation cycle. Residual heat on the jaws could cause unwanted injury if the jaws contact surrounding tissue and/or organs. Re-grasp involves the electrical short between a pair of jaw electrodes when treating thin tissues. Such shorting typically turns on a “re-grasp” alarm and shuts down the coagulation function.
Accordingly, there exists a need for electrosurgical devices that limit excess thermal margin, thermal injury, and electrical shorting or re-grasp.